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Indiana State...
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Indiana Counties
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Indiana Counties
Indiana is divided into 92 counties. The oldest and newest counties in Indiana are Knox County
(created 1790) and Newton County (created 1857).
The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi.) and the smallest is Ohio (87 sq. mi.). According to the Indiana
Constitution, no county may be created of less than 400 square miles, nor may any county smaller than this be
further reduced in size.
Many Indiana counties are named for the US Founding Fathers and personalities of the American Revolutionary War,
the War of 1812 and Battle of Tippecanoe; early leaders of Indiana Territory and Indiana, as well as surrounding
states like Michigan and Kentucky; plus Native American tribes and geographical features.
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LaGrange County, Indiana
LaGrange County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: LaGrange
Year Organized: 1832
Square Miles: 380
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Court House: 105 North Detroit Street
County Courthouse
Lagrange, IN 46761-1877
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Named for the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette's home in Paris.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
LaGrange County was formally organized April 1, 1832.
LaGrange County is divided in to 11 Civil Townships as follows: Bloomfield, Clay, Clearspring, Eden, Greenfield,
Johnson, Lima, Milford, Newbury, Springfield and Van Buren.
The first settlement of LaGrange County was founded about a half mile west of Lima in 1828. Over the next four years,
settlers flocked to parts of Lima, Springfield, and Van Buren Townships. Finally in 1832, LaGrange County was carved out
of neighboring Elkhart County and established with Lima as the county seat. The town of LaGrange was platted in 1836 and
settled in 1842 as the new county seat, closer to the center of the county. Lima's name was changed to Howe in 1909.
In 1837, the government removed Chief Shipshewana and the Potawatomi Tribe from the northwest corner of the county.
Several years later the Chief was allowed to return and died in Newbury Township in 1841. A town named Georgetown had
been platted in 1837 but was abandoned due to lack of development. In 1844, the first Amish came from Pennsylvania to
settle around the old town. The village continued not to grow and the town of Shipshewana was platted nearby in 1899 and
incorporated in 1916 in Newbury Township.
LaGrange County was named after the home of Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de la Fayette, outside of Paris, France.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 387 square miles (1,002 kmē), of which 380
square miles (983 kmē) is land and 7 square miles (19 kmē) (1.85%) is water.
The county is mostly made up of rural farm land but also some rolling hills and several lakes.
Neighboring Counties:
- Northeast: Branch County, Mich.
- East: Steuben County
- Southeast: DeKalb County
- South: Noble County
- West: Elkhart County
- Northwest: St. Joseph County, Mich.
Cities and Towns:
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- Clay |
township |
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- Clearspring |
township |
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- Johnson |
township |
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- Lagrange
(County Seat) |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lima |
township |
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- Newbury |
township |
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- Shipshewana |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Springfield |
township |
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- Topeka |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wolcottville |
town |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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Online High Schools
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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